Thermally induced intermetallic Rh 1 Zn 1 nanoparticles with high phase-purity for highly selective hydrogenation of acetylene

• Published in: Chemical science (Cambridge) 2024-01, Vol.15 (5), p.1758-1768
• Main Authors: Lan, Xiaocheng, Wang, Yu, Liu, Boyang, Kang, Zhenyu, Wang, Tiefeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2041-6520; 2041-6539
• DOI: 10.1039/d3sc05460h

Ordered M Zn intermetallic phases with structurally isolated atom sites offer unique electronic and geometric structures for catalytic applications, but lack reliable industrial synthesis methods that avoid forming a disordered alloy with ill-defined composition. We developed a facile strategy for preparing well-defined M Zn intermetallic nanoparticle (i-NP) catalysts from physical mixtures of monometallic M/SiO (M = Rh, Pd, Pt) and ZnO. The Rh Zn i-NPs with structurally isolated Rh atom sites had a high intrinsic selectivity to ethylene (91%) with extremely low C and oligomer formation, outperforming the reported intermetallic and alloy catalysts in acetylene semihydrogenation. Further studies revealed that the M Zn phases were formed in a reducing atmosphere at 400 °C by a Zn atom emitting-trapping-ordering (Zn-ETO) mechanism, which ensures the high phase-purity of i-NPs. This study provides a scalable and practical solution for further exploration of Zn-based intermetallic phases and a new strategy for designing Zn-containing catalysts.